Share of employment outside the formal sector in Zambia

Zambia: Share of employment outside the formal sector was 78.21 in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
78.21
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
8th
of 81 countries
All-time high
79.22
in 2021
All-time low
77.22
in 2018
Years of data
8
2017–2024

Share of employment outside the formal sector in Zambia, 2017–2024

0204060802017202020242017: 782018: 77.22019: 77.82020: 78.92021: 79.22022: 78.82023: 77.52024: 78.2

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

In 2024, share of employment outside the formal sector in Zambia stood at 78.21.

The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.

Zambia ranks 8th of 81 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

Share of employment outside the formal sector in Zambia, year by year

Annual values for Share of employment outside the formal sector (previous ILO definition - ICLS13) in Zambia, 2017 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2017 78.05
2018 77.22 -1.1%
2019 77.83 +0.8%
2020 78.92 +1.4%
2021 79.22 +0.4%
2022 78.84 -0.5%
2023 77.49 -1.7%
2024 78.21 +0.9%

Zambia compared with similar countries

  • Zambia's 78.21 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 77.06, 1.0× the median. (14 countries reporting)
  • Zambia's 78.21 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 77.06, 1.0× the median. (12 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 77.7 77.22 78.05 3
2020s 78.54 77.49 79.22 5

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 5 Angola 80.59 compare
  2. 6 Honduras 80.1
  3. 7 India 79.94 compare
  4. 9 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 77.89 compare
  5. 10 Senegal 77.65 compare
  6. 11 Zimbabwe 76.47 compare

See the full ranking of 81 places →

More work & labour data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of employment outside the formal sector in Zambia?
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Zambia was 78.21 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 79.22 in 2021.
What is the lowest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 77.22 in 2018.
How does Zambia rank for share of employment outside the formal sector?
Zambia ranks 8th out of 81 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Zambia data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Share of employment outside the formal sector (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of employment outside the formal sector in Zambia. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-employment-outside-the-formal-sector-previous-ilo-definition-icls13/zambia/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of employment outside the formal sector (previous ILO definition - ICLS13)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
81 places, 1,202 data points, 1999–2026
Last refreshed

With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. This harmonized series for employment outside the formal sector is derived using the same set of criteria across countries to improve comparability. The criteria used are based on employment status, institutional sector, destination of production, bookkeeping, registration, social security contribution, places of work and size. Data disaggregated by economic activity are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) available for that year. Data may have been regrouped from national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISIC. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.